


99th century bastards

by loneliestfox



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-09 12:48:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19888090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loneliestfox/pseuds/loneliestfox
Summary: Yukhei wishes he could scrub his thoughts away squeaky clean. If it was so easy for the feeling to bloom into existence then wouldn't it be just as easy to catapult it into a blackhole, never to be seen ever again?





	99th century bastards

**Author's Note:**

> to prompter; i hope u enjoy ♡

This is how Mark and Yukhei study: legs tangled with each other under their cramped kitchen table, the speakers playing their shared playlist on its mechanical lungs, and too much boba running through their veins (and for Yukhei, some remnants of vodka from last night.) They’ve been at it since 12pm, not once moving besides untangling their legs and then tangling them back together after an appropriate long-needed stretch. At the four hour mark however, Yukhei feels a kick at his shin.

Yukhei hums back as a reply, his brain still processing words and letters. He looks up at Mark—him, the evening sun against his chin, with messy hair, and glasses perched right at the tip of his nose. Yukhei feels a little out of place. He swallows and asks, “Yeah?”

The yellow highlighter in Mark’s hand keeps twirling and twirling.

“You hungry?” Mark asks, sucking on the straw of an empty boba cup. The circle of condensation from the boba left on the table hours earlier now gone, evaporated. He puts it back as soon as Yukhei nods. Says, “Let’s go get,” he taps his phone screen and grimaces, “late lunch?”

Maybe it’s the fact that he’s been at it for hours but everything looks a little off; a little wonky. He’s slowly melting in his chair and he stares at Mark, someone so perfect, and nods. He feels so far from perfect.

“Sure,” he croaks out as soon as the song slows down to an end. Next, a familiar song streams through the room and they both shoot each other knowing grins.

Mark closes his book. An end to a day.

First day of college sees Yukhei awkwardly making his way through the freshmen corridor, carrying two boxes in his hands. The whole floor was loud, booming with life—music, laughter, and screams. He couldn’t help but smile thinking that _yes, yes_. He’s going to be apart of this.

Yukhei dodges a few students running up and down the hallway before he finally reaches his dorm room—225—and puts his boxes down to unlock the door. His own room isn’t safe from being noisy. He didn’t get an assigned roommate beforehand, so whoever behind the door is an absolute surprise. He slides the key in into the lock and throws the door open.

What he sees is, well, truly a surprise.

The boy stands in the middle of the room, in between the beds among boxes and luggage bags with the AC remote in his hand. His phone is blasting off Lizzo and he still seems to not realise of Yukhei’s presence. He knocks on the door twice and the boy finally jumps, face red.

“Oh my god,” he says, holding the remote so close to his chest. He looks at Yukhei, wide eyes, and turns away. “I’m sorry, uh, well. That was embarrassing,” he says, trying to busy himself with chucking his luggage on his bed to make more space. “I’m sorry and also I’m, uh, Mark,” he says and makes his way towards Yukhei, hands sticking out in between them. Yukhei stares, pressing down a smile.

“I’m Yukhei,” he replies and shakes Mark’s hand. Small and soft. “I must say, Mark, I, too, quite like Lizzo, so please, continue with your session.”

Yukhei turns around to pick up his boxes then but he doesn’t miss the look on Mark’s face. Firetruck red.

Like a lot of things in Yukhei’s life, he can’t really pinpoint when karaoke night started.

But if he recalls, it must be somewhere during the first week of college when the RA was encouraging everyone to participate in game night. They had sneaked out—just the two of them—and dragged themselves to the nearest Korean noraebang.

By the first night Mark and Yukhei had already followed each other on Spotify and by the end of the month of their college life, they already had a collaborative playlist entitled 99th century bastards. Mark says it’s funny, Yukhei thinks it’s ridiculous.

“And you’ll be left in the dust—”

“—Unless I stuck by ya!”

Funnily, a day that started off with hours of studying ended with watermelon soju and two hours at the noraebang. The music video fades to black on the TV screen and Mark lets out one last laugh before he falls back into the sofa and melts into it. Alcohol does wonders to Yukhei. He’s still feeling a rush as he picks the next song.

“One last song, okay?” Yukhei says as the next video loads and Mark fake groans and rolls his eyes back with his tongue sticking out. “Maaaaark,” he grumbles and shakes his knee. “C’mon.”

“Justin Bieber?”

Yukhei grins. “Of course,” he states and grabs the microphone again.

See, the thing with Mark and Yukhei is that everything is easy. They fit well and even if they don’t, they work it out. Being best friends with your roommate sounds a little difficult at first but it works. Of course, it works.

“Aren’t you sick of poke bowls?”

Yukhei stares at the bowl sitting in front of Mark — he’s been eating this ever since he found out about it and that was approximately eight months ago. Mark raises a spoon at him as a threat.

“You can take my poke bowl from my cold, dead hands,” he says and takes the cover off his bowl. He starts digging in even before Yukhei could take his own bowl out of the paperbag. He looks up and furrows his brows.

“Quit staring and eat your damn food, Wong.”

They ordered poke bowls for takeaway and another round of boba (Mark’s a boring person with shitty taste of taro milk tea; Yukhei is a textbook ABC and orders brown sugar milk tea) to eat at home. They’ve moved out of their dorm and live happily (questionable) in a two bedroom apartment with one (1) toilet and little to no space to cook. Their living room shouldn’t even be called a room. Just a wall with a beanbag and one (1) camping chair.

Yukhei is halfway through his bowl when Mark nudges his foot from under the table.

“Hmm.”

“What time’s your work tomorrow?” Mark asks, leaning back. His bowl is empty already and his boba is halfway finished. “You said you got a new schedule?”

“Oh yeah,” Yukhei says and quickly grabs his backpack to retrieve his phone. He has to go through a lot of receipts and loose changes before he finds his phone in between his Civil Advocacy book and a receipt that ink has turned illegible. He unlocks it and scrolls through his gallery. “So…” he trails, scrutinizing the schedule Ten sent him. “I have Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridays,” he says and uses his thumb and forefinger to zoom in. “I end early on Fridays, like at three, but Wednesday and Thursdays—the usual,” he says, then locks his phone. “You’re still free to visit me right?”

It’s always been a Thing for them — for Mark to visit Yukhei when he works. It doesn’t even have to be long, it could be a five minute run down of Yukhei’s or Mark’s day before they’re off on their own. They call it tradition.

(The first few times Mark visits Yukhei at work, Ten had to pull him aside and gave him a talk about bringing your boyfriend to work. Yukhei’s face felt so warm that day, having to explain to his manager that Mark was definitely not his boyfriend.

“Stalker?”

“He’s my best friend,” Yukhei explained, exasperated. This conversation was stupid, stupid, stupid.

“Well, Yukhei,” said Ten and fixed him with a glare. “Tell your _best friend_ to at least buy a goddamn bookmark if he wants to spend two hours here.”)

Mark nods, shoving his glasses further up on his nose bridge that has been slipping downwards. “Yeah, I only have three classes on Wednesday and Thursdays and only one on Friday, so,” he says and raises a hand curled into a fist for Yukhei to bump it. And bump it Yukhei does, making Mark grin wide.

Yukhei has one earpod in his ear when someone taps the table he’s sitting at with their nail insistently. He looks up to find Renjun grinning at him. He smiles back.

“Hey, Yukhei,” he greets. “Anyone here?”

Yukhei shakes his head. “Nope,” he replies. “You can sit if you want. It’s just me.”

Renjun pulls the chair out and shoots Yukhei a look, one brow raised. Asks, “Where’s your boyfriend?”

Yukhei rolls his eyes and goes back to finishing his reading. Yes, this is much more important than his stupid baby cousin teasing him about his not-boyfriend. When he looks up from his textbook, accepting the fact that he’ll be reading _it is a trite law that to be actionable, the interference or disturbance has to be continuous_ repeatedly if he doesn’t have a peace of mind, Renjun still has a mischievous grin on his face.

“Huang Renjun,” he calls out. Renjun does nothing but chuckle. “Stop it! Mark isn’t my boyfriend — we’ve been over this,” he says, slipping into Mandarin easily and slumps into his seat. “And he has class right now.”

“I didn’t say it was Mark.”

Yukhei glares. Says, “Whatever, Renjun.”

If the amount of times people have mistaken Mark as his boyfriend could be turned to cash, the both of them would be bathing in money, literally. The first time it happened, both of them had spluttered, stuttering through a, “N-No! We’re just best friends!” But it gets boring real fast, especially when kind-hearted old ladies hold Mark’s hand and his and tell them that it’s okay, my grandson is like you, too.

(Mark’s smile falters slightly. “That’s very kind but—”

“Shh, I understand,” she says with an air of wiseness that comes with age and wrinkles around her knuckles. “Sometimes you’re not out and it’s okay. But I’m always here for you two.”

Yukhei can’t help but wheeze, squeezing Mark’s hand in his.)

So now they just ignore it.

(And sometimes they take advantage of it — couple challenge! Valentine’s Day Special! Two for the price of one — one for you and one for your S.O sales!)

Yukhei drops his pen dramatically on the table that even Renjun looks up, same goes with the girl sitting at the table next to them with headphones on, you know, the one with kitty ears on top. Renjun stares and stops highlighting his page.

“What?”

“I can hear you judging me,” Yukhei grumbles. “Mark isn’t—”

“I’m teasing you, Yukhei, Jesus,” Renjun laughs, rolling his eyes. He goes back to his work, writing on a piece of sticky note then ripping it off. He then pastes it back over the chunk of text in his textbook, the one previously highlighted into oblivion. “I know you guys aren’t dating. But it’s just, like, you guys act like you are.”

Yukhei pouts. “We don’t…” He trails.

“Sure, Jan,” he says, the ends of his mouth curled up into a smile. He crumples a piece of sticky note and throws it at Yukhei. It hits him square on the forehead. Says, “Now study.”

Yukhei tries to flatten the paper out and all it says on it is: dumbass.

On Wednesday, Yukhei meets Kunhang.

Usually Yukhei wouldn’t give two shits about new shift mates but it’s the first time he’s meeting someone who can speak Cantonese. They’re speaking in rapid fire Canto under the counter, trying to avoid Ten when Yukhei hears a familiar cough. He hits his head against the table trying to stand and is met with a confused Mark.

“What the fuck were you doing down there?”

Kunhang then stands up, too, next to Yukhei and smiles. Mark’s brows furrow. He shoots Yukhei a look.

“Were you guys fucking getting it on in a bookstore?” He says, absolutely scandalized. He looks at the shiny nametag pinned to Kunhang’s lanyard and gasps. “ _While on your job?_ ”

“Mark,” Yukhei says, sending a tone that can hopefully be interpreted as calm the fuck down. “This is Kunhang. He’s new.” Kunhang waves at Mark and says hi. He then turns to Kunhang. “And Kunhang, this is Mark, the pain in my ass.”

“I’ll show you pain in the—” Then Mark stops himself, cheeks red. “Sorry. Hi, Kunhang,” he says, smiling at him, then expression doing a 180 degree shift when he fixes Yukhei with a look. “I have a study group tonight. I’ll come back late, I think. You think you can fix dinner yourself?”

“I am 20.”

“No, you’re two,” Mark brushes it off. “Don’t fucking eat cereal — again. Order takeout, okay?” He ends it with a smile then and pats Yukhei’s cheek. “Don’t miss me, ugly.”

And then he’s off, leaving a laughing Kunhang at his side.

Yukhei decides to have dinner with Kunhang instead because eating alone is lonely and he read an article once that Ten sent to him that eating while scrolling through your phone can lead to addiction and eating problems. (`this article is for kids` Yukhei replies back. Moments later Ten replies back with a `youre a kid`)

“So,” Yukhei starts. Kunhang eats a cheeseburger like a gentleman with his pinkies outstretched and the wrapper laid flat on the table. Yukhei isn't. He unwraps it halfway and takes one large bite. Through a mouth full of food, he continues, muffled, “you go here, too?”

Yukhei doesn't know if Kunhang's genuinely unbothered or he's not saying anything out of politeness. He nods and puts his burger down.

“Yeah,” he says, “accounting.”

“Wah. You're gonna be _so_ fucking rich.”

Kunhang laughs, eyes crinkling and Yukhei he thinks he's very good looking. He says a quiet, “thank you.”

Yukhei waves a hand in dismissal.

Dinner is easy because it's the first time in a while since Yukhei's spoken Cantonese, the words curled around his tongue always and forever more comfortable, more familiar. It reminds him of his family and his summers in the streets of Hong Kong.

He doesn't realise how much he's missed speaking comfortably until he's home, Mark laughing at their doorstep.

“I don't speak Cantonese, idiot,” Mark says, shrugging his backpack off his shoulder. Yukhei is bent over his textbook, pencil twirling in between his fingers when Mark comes back. He had said something. Something like _you're back!_ but what he didn't realise he said it in his mother tongue.

“Oh,” Yukhei says, flushed. “Shit. I forgot. I spoke Canto with Kunhang for like, two hours straight earlier.”

“‘s fine. Don't worry,” Mark says and dumps his bag on the floor, near Yukhei's knee. Yukhei tugs on his pants. Mark looks down.

“Hey,” Yukhei calls out gently. “Tired?”

“Very,” Mark sighs and sits himself down next to Yukhei. He leans against Yukhei, huddling closer for warmth. “I hate literature snobs.”

Yukhei snorts.

“You once told me _The Catcher in The Rye_ was a human abomination.”

Mark scowls. “And it is,” he points out. “Hate it. I _haaaate_ it. Boys like Holden Caulfield — I hate them.”

“You have a Caulfield in your group, I'm assuming,” Yukhei comments. He flips a page.

“Yes,” Mark sighs. Mark’s fingers run through Yukhei’s thighs, drawing idle shapes over it. They sit in silence — Yukhei reading through his textbook and Mark just being himself. He takes a deep breathe. “Hey, Yukhei,” he says. Yukhei hums back a reply. “When you’re older, don’t be a Caulfield, okay? Be an Atticus Finch.”

Yukhei quirks an eyebrow. “Who?”

But Yukhei never gets an answer out of Mark because the next thing he knows, he’s asleep, cheek pressed against Yukhei’s shoulders.

“Welcome—” Ten’s voice quickly cuts off with a sigh “—Oh. It’s you again.”

“Yes, it’s me,” Mark’s voice fills the store and Yukhei lifts his head from behind a bookshelf he’s reshelving. “Where’s Yukhei? He asked me to send him boba.”

“Here!” Yukhei shouts, voice booming through the store, making Ten send him a glare. There are a few customers around who looks his way before quickly going back to doing what they were previously doing. Even Kunhang at the counter looks up and waves at Mark.

“Hi,” Mark says and presses the cold boba cup in his hands. “Gongcha, right? Did I get your order right?”

Yukhei puts the book he was holding onto the shelf and holds the cup with both hands. He lets out a sigh of relief. Says, “Who cares. I just want boba. Thank you. You’re truly a life saviour.” He pokes the top with a straw and takes a sip. He leans against the shelf and asks, “What you up to later?”

Mark shrugs, one of the straps of his backpack falls off his shoulder. “Nothing really,” he says. “Gonna head back and do some readings before class. I wanna get a book though,” he says and scans the shelves Yukhei’s standing in between. Chick lit. “Any chick lit you’d recommend?” He jokes.

Yukhei mock laughs and picks up a book. Asks, “What do you think of Sophie Kinsela?”

“Haha, funny,” Mark mimics and pinches Yukhei’s arm. He winces and he could physically feel Ten glaring him from afar. “I’ll see on my own.”

“Sure! Have fun! Don’t let the dragons catch you at the fantasy section!”

Mark walks past the counter to head towards the back and he’s a 100% sure Kunhang catches Mark muttering _swear to God he’s two_ under his breath. Kunhang laughs before going back to his laptop. Yukhei huffs.

During closing is when Yukhei gets metaphorically richer.

“You and Mark are so funny,” Kunhang says as Yukhei locks up, twisting the lock into the padlock. He grabs the chains and pulls it apart—just to check and smiles to himself happily. Just making sure no one will be ruining his hard work on the children’s exhibit. He made faux fire out of freaking _tissues_. If anyone lays a hand on it, he will kill.

“Yeah?” Yukhei says and pockets the key. They turn around and head towards the bus stop where they both wait for their respective buses. Kunhang’s first, then fifteen minutes later, his. “Pretty sure _I’m_ the funny one, though. He’s pretty boring. You know he’s an English Lit major?”

“Wow your boyfriend’s an English Lit major?”

_Ka-ching!_

Yukhei sputters and looks at Kunhang, scandalised to the core. Sure it has happened too many times to count but to have this come from his own co-worker who has seen Mark a good amount of times. Kunhang stares back, just as shocked.

“What?” Kunhang says, clutching on the straps of his backpack.

“Mark is _not_ my boyfriend,” he replies, saying this all slowly as if he was explaining to a child. He did not intend to sound patronising but he needs Kunhang to know this, very clearly. They are not—"We are not dating, oh my God.”

The look that crosses Kunhang’s face could be expressed in two adjectives: confused and upset.

“What?” Kunhang says after a while. The traffic on the street comes to halt and splatters of red and yellow lights litter the street. The sound of car honkings punctuating the awkward silence that comes. “What?” He says again, disbelieving. “But you guys live together? And he comes by every shift?”

“Um.” Okay, so when you put it like that. Yukhei runs a hand through his face and lets out a laugh. “He’s really just my best friend. We were roommates in freshmen year and we decided to move out to an apartment together this year. You know? Cheaper for the both of us.”

Kunhang’s mouth is agape rather funnily. He looks like he walked out straight out of a manga. Casually, he slips into Cantonese. Says, “Seriously? But you guys act so much like a couple leh…”

“Aiya,” Yukhei exclaims and waves a hand. “Really, he’s just a friend.”

“Then thank—” Kunhang quickly folds his lips inwards. “Nevermind,” he says instead and Yukhei quirks an eyebrow at him. In the distance he can see Kunhang’s bus making its way. Bus 188.

“What?” He inquires, trying to prod further into Kunhang’s thoughts. Thank _what_? And for what? The bus stops next to them with a screech and a number of people get on the bus. Kunhang shoots him a grin.

“Nothing!” He says and pats Yukhei’s arm. “See you next week, Yukhei.”

And off he goes, with the dust and city dirt.

_But you guys act so much like a couple._

Yukhei shakes his head and focuses at the task at hand: dirty dishes. Today is his turn to wash the dishes and _okay_ , so what that most of the dirty mugs in the sink belong to him. He’s still upset looking at the mess. Added with the fact that it was karaoke night wasn’t helping. Mark’s still in his room reading before they leave at eight. And it’s seven thirty and Yukhei is still just staring at the mess in the sink.

“Okay,” he tells himself. “I can do this.”

To get his mind off things, he shoves earphones in his ears and presses shuffle on the 99th century bastards playlist. He hums happily, scrubbing the coffee stains from the mug when he feels a tug at his ear and his earphone comes out. Mark’s next to him, shoving the earphone into his ear.

“Is it already eight?” Yukhei asks, still scrubbing away. Mark hums, too, and sways slowly to the music. He rinses the mugs underneath the tap and puts it away.

“Like, ten more minutes,” comes Mark’s reply. “If you’re tired we can skip, you know,” he says and bumps his hips against Yukhei’s. Yukhei groans.

“No,” he grunts and puts the last mug underneath the tap water. Seems like time moves slowly as he watches the suds slip away off the ceramic mug. “I want to let my frustration out.”

Mark pulls his earphones out, placing a gentle hand on Yukhei's arm. Worriedly, he asks, “What happened today at work?”

“Nothing,” he answers, probably too quick to be not suspicious at all. Then, “Just some frustrating customer.”

“Retail, huh,” Mark notes and walks away, leaving Yukhei to wipe off the sink. “Alright then be ready in five!”

It’s frustrating.

Yukhei wishes he could scrub his thoughts away squeaky clean. If it was so easy for the feeling to bloom into existence then wouldn't it be just as easy to catapult it into a blackhole, never to be seen ever again?

Frankly he doesn't like this feeling. He feels vulnerable, a little stupid and a little silly. Like he's a character in a fucking Hallmark special. His thoughts are muddled and it's so frustrating how he can't just yeet this feeling out of him. He wants it to die.

"God, you're thinking so loud I'm going to turn deaf," Mark's voice cuts through his paper like thoughts. "You've been squeezing my knee for the past few minutes." Yukhei bends his knee towards himself and frowns. "You good?"

"Yeah," he lies and lets the feeling dig deep through his gut as he photocopies Mark's smile again and again and again in his head. He looks back to his notes and sees Mark's stupid smile.

"Are you sure?" Mark asks, ever so fucking caring.

"Yes," he says and stretches his legs out and tangles them back together with Mark's. Like nothing happened. Like everything is normal.

"Okay," Mark says and Yukhei just fucking knows he's not letting this shit go. But Mark also knows Yukhei so he doesn't push. "Okay."

Kunhang asks him out and he doesn't know what went through his head when he immediately blurted out, "Yes."

"Oh," Kunhang says, cheek tinted red. _Like Mark—_ "What do you wanna do?"

He also doesn't know what went through his head when he blurted out noraebang.

("Not only did you bring him to a noraebang on your first date," Mark says, face full of disdain. "You also wore _polka dots_.")

It isn't a great first date idea, especially when everything reminds him of a Certain Someone. Kunhang's a great singer but nothing can compare to—

"Did Kunhang steal karaoke night from me?" Mark asks one day. Yukhei had just gotten back from, well, another kbbq dinner followed by karaoke. He's pretty sure Kunhang's sick of it already.

"You're being ridiculous," Yukhei reasons as he rolls his eyes.

"Am I being replaced? By a love interest?" He sighs, a hand above his forehead as he falls back against the bean bag. Yukhei takes this chance to have a tickle war. (Spoiler alert: Yukhei wins.)

Kunhang laughs at all his stupid jokes but so does Mark. Kunhang smiles just as wide _but so does fucking Mark_. Since when did Mark become the goddamn bar for every cute boy he encounters. Since when.

Yukhei presses his fingernails hard against his palm as he watches Mark make his way around the bookstore. He's so mad at himself. He feels so—

 _No_.

He'll bury his feelings with him until he dies.

_But—_

Somewhere deep, deep in the nook of his heart does the feeling bloom again. Every time Mark as much as smiles, his heart swells and god, if his heart could just tell him what he wanted instead of interfering with his brain, you know, the one that keeps on chanting: _if you tell him how you feel he'll feel disgusted and leave you_.

 _Or maybe_ his gut tells himself. _Or maybe it's—_

Yukhei tosses and turns in his sleep, wide awake from his thoughts; from Mark. Mark across the hallway is probably having the time of his life in dreamland and yet here he is, lying wide awake hoping maybe, one day, just maybe, Mark would—

Maybe it’s just affection for a friend. Yeah. Nothing big. Nothing to make a fuss over really. Nothing like the big important L word.

 _Or maybe_ his guts says and he pushes it down, down, down. _Or maybe—_

( _You are allowed to love_.)

"So you're telling me," Renjun says slowly, brows furrowed in concentration. "That you absolutely do not have feelings for Mark and yet you keep doing things with Kunhang that reminds you of Mark?"

Yukhei stares at Renjun in disbelief. He stands up, causing the chair to scrape loudly against the wooden floors of the library.

"This is like, a violation of privacy. Did you read my fucking brain?"

"Sit down, you're so dramatic," Renjun angrily whispers, covering the side of his face with his hand. "I know karaoke night is a 99th century bastards thing, so why'd you do it with Kunhang?"

"I—"

"You wished it was Mark, wasn't it?"

"Did I not tell you to not read my brain?"

"I have this really bastard idea," Renjun states, ignoring Yukhei's previous statement. "So you miss hanging out with Mark, and you also want to know if hanging out with Kunhang can go somewhere, right?"

"Right," Yukhei says, nodding.

"Then what about," Renjun says and leans closer. Yukhei bends forward.

And this is how Yukhei finds himself sitting in between Mark and Kunhang on a Friday night at a noraebang.

It's suffocatingly awkward. Fair; they both don't know each other well enough. It's mostly Yukhei singing and the other two cheering him on. He feels like shit.

At the end of the night, he sends Renjun a text. `so that didnt work`

Renjun replies. `try again dumb bitch`

And so he does.

Second time, they meet at a kbbq place on a Saturday night. Probably not the best choice seeing that their knees kept bumping into each other and their foreheads kept hitting the smoke extractor.

But this time it went better, Mark and Kunhang talked more and Yukhei's heart is still, unfortunately, torn to pieces.

By the third time however, Kunhang is sick of his shit.

"I think," Kunhang says, sighing. "I think I get you. You don't have to invite Mark every time I ask you out just because you want to strongly push the fact that you only see me as a friend."

Yukhei frowns. "I'm really sorry, Kunhang," he says and it is genuine. He really thought Kunhang would grow on him but no—it was always Mark in his head and maybe, it's time Yukhei stays true to himself.

“I have a problem,” Yukhei announces, storming into the back room of their store. Ten’s startled as he looks up, his phone dropping into his poke bowl. Yukhei winces. “Sorry.”

“Ugh, sure,” Ten sighs as he takes his phone out from the mess and wipes it with the tissues on his lap. “What’s up?”

"I think I'm in love with my best friend," he confesses. Ten looks unfazed, carefully wiping his phone. "And I don't know what to do."

"I think the first step is to, you know," Ten says, gesticulating his thoughts. "To tell him."

"What if—"

"Nope!" Ten says, shaking his head _and_ wagging his finger at Yukhei. He gets a verbal and two non-verbals no. "We do not play the what ifs game in this household. You might as well not live," he explains. "You gotta dive headfirst, babe."

"I don't want to ruin our friendship." And there it is. He loves their friendship too much to risk breaking it over some stupid feelings he can't repress well enough. Maybe if he tried harder?

Ten smiles. "And you won't," he says. "What best friend hangs out with their best friend almost every shift? Johnny didn't even do this before we got together."

Yukhei musters up a smile. “Thanks, Ten,” he says. “I really love you.”

Ten laughs. Says, “Save that for Mark.”

It'll be real magical if his plan actually works.

Well, to call it a plan would be a stretch. All he did was create playlists ( _Songs We Sing Together, Songs That Remind Me Of You,_ and _Easy, Tiger_ ) for Mark and well. We wait.

Yukhei also looks up at his Spotify account and sees that Mark is _indeed_ listening to his playlists. He had specifically said to listen to Easy, Tiger last because really all it said was—

`did u just fucking confess to me through a PLAYLIST`

Yukhei's too scared to open his texts.

Hours later does Mark get his answer.

"Yukhei Wong," Mark calls out gently. He came in storming Yukhei thought that not only that he was going to get rejected, but also that he was going to get _murdered_. "Did you mean it?"

"Oh you meant the playlists I totally made for fun? Yeah. They were for _fun_. No hidden meaning at all."

Mark glares. "Yukhei," he whines and somehow, the space between them becomes too large to bear. He takes a step closer, then another, then another. "Did you really?"

Yukhei sighs and gathers his marbles to wrap his arms around Mark. Mark blinks up at him as he pulls him close.

"I meant it," he says. "I really mean it. I really love you, Mark."

And this is where Yukhei has imagined about a million times. He gets rejected and is forced to move out. Mark confesses to having a secret lover. Mark actually is unable to love anyone. Already by the third scenario Yukhei's already choked up that he doesn't hear what Mark says.

"What?" He asks, asking Mark to repeat.

Mark gnaws on his bottom lip. “What if we don’t work out?” He mumbles, his fingers finding their home on Yukhei’s shoulders. It would be a lie if Yukhei were to say he wasn’t scared. He was just as scared. Falling for your best friend? How many risks will there be? What if they break up? What if—what if—

_Dive headfirst, babe._

“But what if we work out,” Yukhei replies and pulls back a little. He takes in Mark; soft and vulnerable Mark. All because of him, him, him. _What if we don’t work out? What if I hurt you?_ Yukhei exhales. Once, twice. “Mark,” he says softly and grabs onto Mark’s hands and links their fingers together. “What if we work out?”

Like the sun shining after a storm comes Mark’s smile and he laughs. He laughs and Yukhei’s heart swells. He holds on Yukhei’s hand tighter.

He doesn't have to push his feelings down anymore. He'll let him bloom.

“Then I’ll be the happiest person alive,” he answers. “Yukhei, I love you.”

Yukhei squeezes his hand back. Grins back and says, “I love you, too.”

“For the record,” Mark says, grinning wide just like him. “I won’t break up with you if you wear polka dots on our dates.”

Yukhei laughs. He laughs and his heart swells. Jesus Christ. He really fucking loves this stupid boy. He leans closer till their noses brush against each other and replies, “Oh, thank God. Was about to burn all my polka dots just for you, baby.”

And Mark rolls his eyes, wrapping his arms around Yukhei and finally _finally_ kisses him, square on the fucking mouth. They kiss and they kiss and they kiss.

"Why do you insist on using earphones?"

Yukhei shushes him as they lean against _their_ bed frame. Their hands are intertwined and they're both sharing earphone plugged into Mark's phone. Mark snuggles closer and closes his eyes.

"Because," Yukhei starts, "it is more romantic. And intimate."

Mark giggles. "You're such a hopeless romantic," he sighs. "And I love you for that."

"Yeah, bro, did you not see how I confessed to you? Was that some Netflix Originals shit or what?"

Mark thwacks Yukhei's arm. "Don't fucking _bro_ , me!"

"Bro...I love you, bro," Yukhei says and pokes Mark's sides, making him let out a scream. "Bro, don't stop, bro…"

And Mark laughs. Yukhei decides making Mark laugh is genuinely the best thing in the world, right after lasagna. But Mark doesn't have to know that as he peppers kisses all over his dumb handsome face.

See, the thing with Mark and Yukhei is that everything is easy. They fit well and even if they don’t, they work it out. Being in a relationship with your best friend sounds a little difficult at first but it works. Of course, it works. It will always work.

**Author's Note:**

>   
>  by [@puku2pang_](https://twitter.com/puku2pang_)!! thank u sm <3


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